Toggle switch

ABSTRACT

A toggle switch wherein a toggle lever is rotatably supported on the inner walls of a sleeve fitted to a case. A slidable member attached to that end of the lever which is received in the case is made to move substantially at right angles to the axis of the toggle lever. The slidable member has an engagement groove bored at one part of the underside and a conical projection provided at another part thereof. A cam provided has its operative surface sufficiently undulated to assure the operative and inoperative conditions of the toggle switch and pressed against the conical projection, and is kept urged by a spring from below. A support plate received in the case is fitted with a movable contact member whose base is rotatably supported and whose upper end is engaged with the engagement groove formed in the slidable member. A pair of stationary contact members designed to define the operative or inoperative condition of the toggle switch according to the movement of the movable contact member are provided on the support plate in a manner to face each other across the movable contact member, and the base of the movable contact member and the paired stationary contact members are each fitted with a conical contact terminal for electrical connection to other devices installed outside of the case.

United States Patent 11 1 Kimijima et al.

[ Dec. 3, r974 TOGGLE SWITCH [73] Assignee: Fujisoku Electric Co., Ltd.,

Kawasaki-shi, Japan [22] Filed: Sept. 20, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 399,093

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Sept, 20, 1972 Japan 47-109082 Dec. l, l972 Japan 47-138356 [52] US. Cl. 200/153 G, 200/291 [51] Int. Cl. H01h 3/46, HOlh 5/10 [58] Field of Search 200/153 G, 332, 335, 337, 200/6 A, 291

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,589,025 -3/l952 Phelps et al. 200/6 A 3,030,459 4/1962 Elliot et al. 200/6 A 3,072,757 1/1963 Gluck ZOO/l6 3,235,679 2/l966 Schaad etal. 200/6 A 3,571,545 3/1971 Haderer 200/291 Primary ExaminerRobert K. Schaefer Assistant ExaminerWilliam J. Smith Attorney, Agent, or FirmFlynn & Frishauf [57] ABSTRACT A toggle switch wherein a toggle lever is rotatably supported on the inner walls of a sleeve fitted to a case. A slidable member attached to that end of the lever which is received in the case is made to move substantially at right angles to the axis of the toggle lever. The slidable member has an engagement groove bored at one part of the underside and a conical projection provided at another part thereof. A cam provided has its operative surface sufficiently undulated to assure the operative and inoperative conditions of the toggle switch and pressed against the conical projection, and is kept urged by a spring from below. A support plate received in the case is fitted with .a movable contact member whose base is rotatably supported and whose upper end is engaged with the engagement groove formed in the slidable member. A pair of stationary contact members designed to define the operative or inoperative condition of the toggle switch according to the movement of the movable contact member are provided on the support plate in a manner to face each other across the movable contact member, and the base of the movable contact member and the paired stationary contact members are each fitted with a conical contact terminal for electrical connection to other devices installed outside of the case.

5 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures PATENTLCEB 31974 sum 20F a FIG.6A F|G.6B F|G.6C FIG.6D

M m m m FIG. 7

PAIENIELBEE 31w 3.852.552

SHEEI 30? 3 TOGGLE SWITCH BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a toggle switch capable of assuring the firm attachment of the contact members. According to a toggle switch known to date, a cam used therein has its operative surface properly undulated, and a toggle lever is actuated with the end pressed against the undulated cam plane so as to match. the manner in which the switch must have its operation changed over, thereby attaining the operative or inoperative condition of the toggle switch according to the rest position of the toggle lever defined by the undulated cam surface. In this case, the operative condition of the toggle switch is kept stable due to short- SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION- lt is accordingly the object of. this invention to provide a toggle switch which is free from the abovementioned drawback and can assure the firm attachment of the contact members. To attain this object, the toggle switch of the invention has aslidable member provided in a case. Said slidable member is fitted to the inner end of a toggle lever freely mov'ablein the case so as to slide at right angles to the axis of the toggle lever, and has an engagement groove bored at one part of the underside and a conical projection provided at another part thereof. The subject'toggle switch further includes a movable contact member rotatably'supported at the base on the support plate and engaged at the upper end with the engagement groove of the slidable member. When the slidable member slides by the operation of the toggle lever, the

FIG. 3 is a sectional view on line III-III of FIG. 1 as viewed in the direction of the indicated arrows;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are enlarged oblique views of the paired contact springs of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a front view, partly in section, of the toggle switch of FIGS. 1 to 3 remaining in a conducting state;

FIGS. 6A to 6D are front views of various modifications of a cam used in the invention;

FIG. 7 is a front view of the main part of a toggle switch according to another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a front view, partly in section, of a toggle switch according to still another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a front view, partly in section, of the toggle switch of FIG. 8 remaining in a conducting state; and

FIG. 10 is a substantial front view of a modification of FIG. 8.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS There will now be described by reference to the appended drawings the preferred embodiments of this invention. Throughout FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, referential numeral 31 denotes a base case in which one side wall 38 is lower than the other three side walls 35, 36 and 37 anda notch 70 is cut out at the upper center. A cover case 33 is placed atop the case 31 and also has a notch 71 cut out at the center of that side which abuts against the side wall 38 of the base case 31. Both notches 70 and 71 jointly form a through hole 72. The base case movable contact member'is' flexed to the left or right i according to the direction of said slide to contact either .of the paired stationary contact members facing each other across the movable contact member so as to con-' trol the operative or inoperative condition of the toggle switch. This control is carried out by the pos'itionofthe I toggle .lever' defined by the undulated cam surface, along which the projection of the slidable member moves in a state pressed against said cam surface from below by the urging force of the spring. The above.-

mentioned arrangement of the present toggle switch renders. the contact of the;movable'contact member with either of the paired stationary contact members FIG. 2 is a front view, partly'in section, of the toggle switch of FIG. 1 with the case taken off; I

four corners of oneside wall. The cover case 33 of FIG. 1 is penetrated by poles (not shown) corresponding to the holes 32 to forma switch case. A'cylind'ric'al sleeve 41 is inserted into the switch case'through an opening at one end and fitted to the base case 31 at'the lower end by a flange 47' integrally formed with said lower h end. Received in the cylindrical sleeve 41 is a toggle lever 42 with its operative portion exposed to the outside. A spherical knob .43 is formed all around part of the outer wall of the inserted portion of the toggle lever 42 so as to render; the toggle lever 42 rotatablewith said spherical knob 43.used as a fulcrum. The toggle lever 42 is bored witha blind hole 73 .extending along the axis thereof. A spring 44 is received in the blind hole 73 so as to act toward the bottom thereof. The blind hole 73 also contains a transmission lever 45, one end of which is connected to the spring.44 and the other end of which projects downward through the ,bottom opening of the cylindrical sleeve' v41 and the through hole 72 and takes as'ubstantial ly semispherical form. This semispherical endfportion 7,4 is securely fitted into a blind hole 57 bored in'a slidable member 56, Formed in the thick inner walls of a'. compositeprotectiv'e covering jointly formed of the base case 31 and cover case 33 are a horizontal groove 52 and a vertical groove 51.- The slidable member 56 moves back and viously described, asharp projection58 is formed'at.

onepart of underside of the slidable member 56..Bored at another part of said underside is an engagement groove 64. The end of the conical projection 58main-.

tains a perpetual contact with the'undulated surface 54 of a cam 53 which is always urged upward by a spring 55. These spring 55, cam 53 and projection 58 are all received in the vertical groove 51. When the slidable member 56 moves by the operation of the toggle lever 42, the projection 58 also 'inoves over the undulated cam surface 54sh'own'in FIG. 3, thereby urging the cam 53 vertically along" the axis of the vertical groove 51 by or against the force of the spring 55. An upright support plate 59 is fixed to part of one side wall of the base case 31 as illustrated in the sectional view of FIG. 1, in order to firmly hold the conical projection 58, cam 53 and spring55 in the vertical groove 51, and the slidable member 56 in the horizontal groove 52. The upright support plate 59 is fitted with a movable contact member 63 made of, for example, rigid material, and

having its base rotatably supported. The movable contact member 63 has its upper end fitted into the 'en-' gagement groove 64 of the slidable member56, and ,Iconsequently is rotated with the base as a fulcrum in the same direction as that in which the slidable member 56 moves. A pair of stationary contact pins 61 and 62 are fitted to the upright support plate 59 in a'manner to face each other across the movable contact member 63.'The paired stationary contact pins'61 and 62 are wound with contact springs 65 and 66 consisting of plate springs, which, as shown in-the enlarged oblique views of FIGS. 4A and 48, have the base-formed into a ringshape and the outer end folded in the U-shape to provide aresilient force. Further, the contact springs .65 and 66 have projections 67 and 68 each formed on the intermediate part of one of the' sideedges. These projections 67 and'68 are engaged with the holes (not shown) bored in the upright supportplate 59 so as to fix the contact springs 65 and 66 in place. The projecting end of each of the stationary contact pins 61 and 62 horizontally penetrates the cover case 33 to be exposed to the outside-thereof, thereby acting as a contact terminal. j

The cylindrical sleeve 41' has its peripheral surface provided with screw threads 69 so as tobe lightly fixed in place whenit is inserted into a switch-fitting plate (.notshown).. I i

There will now be further-detailed the operation of the to'ggle'switch of this invention arranged-as described above. While the toggle lever 42 takes the positionshown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the toggle switch remains inoperative. When the slidable member 56 is made to'.

the contact pin 60 to the right of FIG. 2 with the upper end inserted into the engagement groove-64 of the slidable member "56 to contact the contact spring 66 wound about" the'stationary contact pin-62' in a state pressed against the U-shaped portion of said contactspring V66. T0 stabilize said contact, the interrelas tionship ofthe movable contact member 63 and stationary contact members 65 and 66 is previously deter mined so as to attain the elastic flexion of the U-shaped portion of the contact spring 66. This arrangement assuresat the time of the above-mentionedcontact the very stable operative condition of the toggle switch against external vibrationsor shocks.

Where the toggle lever 42 is thrown in the opposite direction to the above-mentioned case, and the slidable member 56 is made to move in the direction of the arrow B indicated in FIG. 3, then the toggle switch is turned off when the toggle lever 42 is brought back to its original vertical position. When the slidable member 56 is made to slide further in the direction of the indicated arrow B, then the movable Contact member 63 contacts the other stationary contact member 65 to render the toggle switch temporarily conducting. This temporary conducting condition is caused by the fact that when the slidable member 56 ceases to move, the spring pressing the cam 53 from below exerts its repulsive force immediately to restore the slidable member 56, transmission lever 45 and toggle lever 42 to the original inoperative condition. The outline of the surface of the cam 53 is defined according to the manner in which the toggle switch is designed to have its opera- 3 tion changed over. In other words, the operation of the toggle switch varies with the cam surface. For example, the shape of the cam surface shown in FIG. 6A attains first a conducting condition and thena temporaryinoperative condition. The shape of the cam surface of FIG. 6B definesfirst a conducting condition,- then a temporary inoperative condition and again a conducting condition. The shape of the cam surface .of FIG. 6C determines a sequence of ON-OFF-ON-OFF-ON conditions. The shape ofthe cam surface of FIG. 6D realizes a sequence of temporary OFF-ON temporary. OF F condi tions. I

The foregoing embodiment included a pair of stationary contact pins 61 and 62, one of which, however, may

be omitted. Further, the toggle switch of this invention may be modified for use with multipoles. A modification, for example, as a' bipolar toggle switch can be effected, as shown in FIG. 7, by fitting contact pins and 60a each common to the bipolesand two pairs of stationary contact pins 61- '62 and61a -;62a to the support plate, and engage the ends .of the movable contact members 63 and 63a with the engagement grooves 72 and 72a of a 'comm'onslidable member 71 so as to cause the movable contact member 63 to contact either of the contact springs 65 and 66 and the other movable contact member 63a to contact either of the contact springs 65a and 66a.

Therewill now be described a toggle switch according to another embodiment of this invention. The arrangement of FIG. 8 is substantially the same as that of FIG. 2, excepting that FIG. 8 includes a movable contact member and a pair of stationary contact members different from those of FIG. 2. The other component members of FIG. 8 are the same as those of FIG.- 2, and description thereof is omitted. The movable contact member 63 consists of a plate spring. Fitted to the intermediate part of said contact member 63 is a movable contact attachment '65 contacting either of a pair of stationary contact members 61 and 62;. FIG. 9

, shows the-conducting condition of the toggle switch of FIG.,8 brought about'by the operation :of the toggle lever 42. The .plate spring constituting the movable contact member 63 which itself is elastic can eliminate the necessity of providing the contact springs. wound about the stationary contact pins used .in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 7 an d yet assures the veryistable conducting condition of a toggle switch whensaidplate spring directly contacts either of the stationary contact members.

The embodiment of FIG. denotes the toggle switch of FIGS. 8 and 9 modified for use as a bipolar type. The parts of FIG. 10 the same as those of FIGS. 8 and 9 are indicated by the same numerals and description thereof is omitted.

What we claim is:

1. A toggle switch comprising a cylindrical sleeve; a case having the edge of an opening at one end fitted with the cylindrical sleeve and bored with horizontal and vertical grooves; a toggle lever penetrating the cylindrical sleeve with the operative end of said lever exposed to the outside and rotatably supported on the inner walls of the cylindrical sleeve; a slidable member fitted to the end of the toggle lever received in the case so as to slide through the horizontal groove of the case and having one part of the underside provided with a conical projection and another part of said underside bored with an engagement groove; a cam having its surface sufficiently undulated to assure the operative and inoperative conditions of the toggle switch and, when the toggle lever is operated, designed to move upward or downward through the vertical groove of the case according to the movement of the projection of the slidable member in contact with the undulated surface; a spring positioned between the underside of the cam and'theinner wall of the case bottom so as to urge the cam upward against the depressive force of the projection; a support plate fitted to the inside of one side wall of the case to protect the projection, cam and spring; a movable contact member having its base rotatably supported on the support plate and its upper end fitted into the engagement groove; a pair of stationary contact members fixed to the support plate in a manner to face each other across the movable contact member; and contact terminals projecting from the base of the movable contact member and stationary contact members to the outside of the case.

2. A toggle switch according to claim 1 wherein the toggle lever comprises of a spring received in a blind hole bored in the lever so as to extend in its axial direction and a transmission lever inserted into the blind hole so as to slide therethrough by the force of said spring and provided at one end with the slidable memher.

3. A toggle switch according to claim 1 wherein the movable contact member comprises of a rigid plate.

4. A toggle switch according to claim 1 wherein the movable contact member comprises of a plate spring.

5. A toggle switch according to claim l wherein the stationary contact member comprises of a contact spring which gives forth a resilient force when contacted by the movable contact member.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PatentNo. 3,852,552 Dated December 3, 1974 Invent 1-(s) Hiroatsu KIMIJIMA et al It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 6, line 13, after "comprises" delete "of" line 20, after "comprises" delete "of" line 25, after "comprises" delete "of" (SEAL) Attest:

C. MARS All DANN RUTH C. MASON Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officer and Trademarks "ORM PO-105O (10-69) uscoMM-oc OOS'IG-POO k ".5. GOVIIIIINT PRINTING OFFICI Ill. 0-3'3u. 

1. A toggle switch comprising a cylindrical sleeve; a case having the edge of an opening at one end fitted with the cylindrical sleeve and bored with horizontal and vertical grooves; a toggle lever penetrating the cylindrical sleeve with the operative end of said lever exposed to the outside and rotatably supported on the inner walls of the cylindrical sleeve; a slidable member fitted to the end of the toggle lever received in the case so as to slide through the horizontal groove of the case and having one part of the underside provided with a conical projection and another part of said underside bored with an engagement groove; a cam having its surface sufficiently undulated to assure the operative and inoperative conditions of the toggle switch and, when the toggle lever is operated, designed to move upward or downward through the vertical groove of the case according to the movement of the projection of the slidable member in contact with the undulated surface; a spring positioned between the underside of the cam and the inner wall of the case bottom so as to urge the cam upward against the depressive force of the projection; a support plate fitted to the inside of one side wall of the case to protect the projection, cam and spring; a movable contact member having its base rotatably supported on the support plate and its upper end fitted into the engagement groove; a pair of stationary contact members fixed to the support plate in a manner to face each other across the movable contact member; and contact terminals projecting from the base of the movable contact member and stationary contact members to the outside of the case.
 2. A toggle switch according to claim 1 wherein the toggle lever comprises of a spring received in a blind hole bored in the lever so as to extend in its axial direction and a transmission lever inserted into the blind hole so as to slide therethrough by the force of said spring and provided at one end with the slidable member.
 3. A toggle switch according to claim 1 wherein the movable contact member comprises of a rigid plate.
 4. A toggle switch according to claim 1 wherein the movable contact member comprises of a plate spring.
 5. A toggle switch according to claim 1 wherein the stationary contact member comprises of a contact spring which gives forth a resilient force when contacted by the movable contact member. 